RapidRide A Line Three Year Post- Implementation Survey Results Prepared for: King County Metro by Pacific Market Research King County Metro Contact Info 201 S. Jackson St Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: 206-553-3000 November 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................... 3 Background and Objectives .................................................................................. 3 Method ................................................................................................................... 4 KEY FINDINGS ................................................................................................... 6 DETAILED FINDINGS .................................................................................... 10 Overall Satisfaction with Service ......................................................................... 10 Satisfaction with Service Elements for A Line Year 3 and Year 1 Post- Implementation ................................................................................................... 10 Trip Time ..............................................................................................................11 Personal Safety .....................................................................................................12 Waiting Area/Bus Stop Where You Boarded for This Trip .................................15 Things about Buses ...............................................................................................18 Ease of Transferring .............................................................................................21 Frequency and Reliability of Buses ......................................................................24 How RapidRide Compares to Other Metro Bus Service ................................... 27 Transit Trips Taken ............................................................................................ 28 Reason for Riding ................................................................................................ 28 Days and Times of Riding .................................................................................. 29 If you did not use RapidRide A Line,how would you make this trip? .............. 30 Transfers .............................................................................................................. 30 Fares .................................................................................................................... 31 Trip Information Sources .................................................................................... 33 Recommendations for RapidRide A Line Improvements ................................. 33 Respondent Profile .............................................................................................. 35 APPENDIX ......................................................................................................... 36 Metro RapidRide A Line Three Year Post-Implementation Survey 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background and Objectives King County Metro Transit (Metro) introduced its first RapidRide line, the A Line, in Fall 2010, offering Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service between Tukwila International Boulevard Link Station and Federal Way Transit Center on Pacific Highway South/ International Boulevard. The RapidRide A Line replaced service formerly provided by Route 174. The RapidRide A Line provides the best features Metro has to offer, including: • Service every 10 minutes during the weekday peak periods, every 15 minutes during most other times of the day and days of the week until 10 pm, and scheduled late night/early morning service. • Distinctive new red buses with three doors for easy boarding, security cameras, stop announcements and passenger WiFi. • Branded passenger facilities that include redesigned shelters, enhanced lighting, electronic real time information signs, off-board ORCA card readers at major stops, and other convenient features. • Use of HOV lanes and transit signal priority to improve reliability and speed up travel times. Metro contracted with Pacific Market Research to conduct a three year post-implementation survey of RapidRide A Line riders to determine their current satisfaction with RapidRide service. This report compares results of the three year post-implementation survey (obtained in October 2013) with the one year post-implementation survey results for the RapidRide A Line (obtained in October 2011). Specific areas of investigation were: • Trip time • Personal safety • Waiting area / Bus stop where boarded • Things about buses • Ease of Transferring • Frequency and reliability of the buses • How RapidRide compares to other Metro bus service • Rides taken during the past 30 days, usual reason for riding and length of time as a rider • Payment of fares • Trip information sources • Recommendations for improvements Key findings from the Year 3 survey are provided in this Executive Summary. They are presented as a comparison with Year 1 survey results for RapidRide A Line. Metro RapidRide A Line Three Year Post-Implementation Survey 3 Method All riders onboard selected RapidRide A Line trips were invited to complete a questionnaire regarding their satisfaction with various service quality elements. To accommodate riders who do not speak English, the survey was also offered in Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese. A total of 13 surveys were obtained in these languages, including 9 in Spanish, 2 in Korean and 2 in Vietnamese. Trips to be surveyed were selected to provide a variety of peak and non-peak riders. Table A summarizes response rates for both post-implementation surveys compared in this report. Considering response rate as a proportion of all questionnaires given out, October A Line had an extremely high response rate of 86%, compared to 46% for January A Line and 69% for Route 174. Considering response rate as a proportion of all riders contacted, 24% of A Line riders completed surveys in October, about the same as in January (26%). Table A Completed Questionnaires on RapidRide A Line October Year 3 and October Year 1 RapidRide A Line RapidRide A Line Year 3 Year 1 Completed Questionnaires 606 555 % of Questionnaires Handed Out 89% 86% % of All Riders on Sampled Trips* 41% 24% % Refused 21% 17% *All riders on sampled trips: this includes riders who declined to take a survey because they had already completed one. Dates of Survey Intercepts for the Year 3 post-implementation survey occurred on two days: October 29 and October 30, 2013. Year 1 surveys were collected October 11 and October 17, 2011. A total of 606 complete surveys were collected in Year 3, and 555 complete surveys in Year 1. Trips to be surveyed were selected to provide a variety of peak and non-peak riders. (Table B) Table B Interviewing Schedule – Year 3 Tues., Oct 29th Tukwila International Blvd Link Station 6 AM to 2 PM Tues., Oct 29th Federal Way Transit Center 6 AM to 2 PM Wed., Oct 30th Tukwila International Blvd Link Station 12 to 8 PM Wed., Oct 30th Federal Way Transit Center 12 to 8 PM Metro RapidRide A Line Three Year Post-Implementation Survey 4 Reporting Conventions Statistical tests were used to compare differences in mean scores as well as differences in the percentage of respondents who were “satisfied” (combined ratings of 4 and 5) or “dissatisfied” (combined ratings of 1 and 2). Response proportions presented in text and displayed in graphs and in tables exclude the number of respondents who did not answer the questions and also, the number of respondents who indicated not applicable. Text summaries of respondent ratings are presented as the combined proportions of satisfied/very satisfied ratings and dissatisfied/very dissatisfied ratings. Rounding mechanisms inherent in the software can make response proportions shown in graphs and reported in text vary from cross tabulation results by up to 1 percentage point. A complete set of data tables is available under separate cover Metro RapidRide A Line Three Year Post-Implementation Survey 5 KEY FINDINGS The RapidRide A Line Year 3 post-implementation survey found a decline in riders’ overall satisfaction compared to the Year 1 survey. Further, the Year 3 survey found there was either no change, or a decline, in satisfaction ratings for all transit elements. Ratings ranged from a low of 43% satisfied/very satisfied for behavior of other passengers on the bus, to a high of 77% for having free WiFi. Of the 31 service elements rated both years, 20 (63%) had a mean rating significantly lower than Year 1; however, when comparing the percent satisfied (very satisfied plus satisfied), only 11 out of 31 (34%) were significantly less likely to be satisfied. This indicates that for nine service elements, although the overall mean rating dropped, the shift was only from very satisfied to simply “satisfied” and that Riders are not yet dissatisfied with these elements. The following information summarizes the significant differences between satisfaction (satisfied/very satisfied) ratings given this year and ratings obtained one year post- implementation • Overall satisfaction with service – Overall satisfaction is significantly lower in Year 3, 79 percent compared to 85 percent in Year 1. The mean satisfaction score is also significantly lower in Year 3 (4.07) versus Year 1 (4.25). • Trip time - Satisfaction with how long my bus takes was significantly lower with the proportion who gave ratings of satisfied/very satisfied in Year 3 (74%) and Year 1 (80%). • Personal safety while